Citigroup Global Markets analyst Jim Suva has predicted that economic uncertainty in the UK following the referendum decision to leave the EU will hurt Apple sales. Business Insider reports that Citigroup has lowered its estimates for iPhone sales across two quarters.
The reduction isn’t a major one – just 700k down on the previous estimate – but does give some indication that the economic consequences of Brexit will extend beyond the UK.
We are lowering our estimates for June and September quarters given potential for lower demand from macro uncertainty (Brexit related), currency volatility and lengthening replacement cycles.
As an indication of how other tech companies are responding, Dell has confirmed that it has raised its wholesale prices by 10% in the UK in response to a 12.4% reduction in the value of the pound against the dollar, and it’s been suggested that HP is likely to follow suit. While Apple currently appears to be adopting a wait-and-see approach, it seems likely that it too will raise its UK prices at some point.
Awesome photo of Apple’s Regent Street store in London: Zman
